Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill

Luke Evans Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 25th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. We have an important balance to strike. Obviously, these rules are for non-commercial pets, and there are people who may have several dogs that they travel with. We are trying to strike the balance such that we ensure that we do not have a situation where innocent people travelling with their pets suddenly need a commercial licence, while significantly tightening the regime to prevent abuse of the non-commercial pet travel route.

The Bill includes an enabling power that will allow us to implement further restrictions on the importation of dogs, cats and ferrets on welfare grounds through secondary legislation. We have recently conducted a consultation on the detail of those measures, including proposals to raise the minimum age for importing puppies and to prohibit the import of heavily pregnant dogs and dogs with cropped ears and docked tails. That consultation closed on 16 October, and we will be working to analyse the responses over the coming weeks.

Thirdly, the Bill delivers on our manifesto commitment to ban the keeping of primates as domestic pets in England. Primates have highly complex welfare and social needs, making them unsuitable to be kept in a home environment. I saw the consequences of that myself during a visit to the Wild Futures monkey sanctuary several years ago with my hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall (Mrs Murray). I congratulate her on her work in this area—she previously brought forward a private Member’s Bill—along with other hon. Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax), who has also raised this issue with me repeatedly over the years.

People keeping primates outside of licensed zoos and scientific facilities will now need to obtain a specialist primate keeper licence to do so. That new licence will ensure that the only people keeping primates are those able to meet the highest welfare standards appropriate to meet their welfare needs.

Primate keepers will be required to apply to their local authority for a licence and will be subject to inspections by a suitably qualified person. Only a person holding a licence will be able to buy, sell, transfer or breed primates. The local authority will have the power to revoke a licence if the prescribed conditions are not adhered to, and in instances where primates are being kept illegally, it will be able to seize and rehome them. At the request of Welsh Ministers, we will bring forward a Government amendment in Committee to extend this measure to Wales.

The fourth set of measures in the Bill will update legislation going back to the 1950s on dogs attacking and worrying livestock. Livestock worrying is a serious and increasing problem, which can cause significant emotional and financial consequences for livestock keepers. The legislation will be updated to cover all places where livestock are kept or may be present, such as on roads while being moved from one field to another.

Updating the legislation will also ensure that it covers all the types of livestock now more commonly kept for production, or for other purposes, in England, including camelids, emus, ostriches and enclosed deer. Crucially, the reformed provisions will also give the police more enforcement powers to prevent recurring incidents. Police will be able to seize and detain a dog until the end of an investigation, or the withdrawal or conclusion of a court case. Police will also be able to use DNA testing to collect evidence. I pay tribute to the work done in this area by a number of hon. Members, including my hon. Friends the Members for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie) and for Aberconwy (Robin Millar).

Finally, we will update the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 to ensure animal welfare and conservation standards in zoos are strengthened, and can be updated and enforced more effectively. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the UK Zoos Expert Committee are currently overhauling the “Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice”. The standards, which set out conditions that local authorities must have regard to when setting requirements of zoos, have previously been criticised for being vague and, in some places, unenforceable. We are drafting new, clearer standards, and amending the 1981 Act via the Bill to ensure that new standards must be followed.

The update to the standards, alongside our proposals to move conservation measures into the standards, should make the requirements placed on zoos clearer, and better enable local authorities to enforce those standards more effectively. The amendments will also increase maximum penalties for zoos not complying with the legislation, and modernise the appeals process for local authority licensing decisions in England.

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

I am a member of the zoos and aquariums all-party parliamentary group, which is concerned about what the regulations may look like. Is there a timescale for when they are likely to be brought forward, or even a first draft, so there can be adequate consultation?

[George Eustice]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I understand that we are already in discussion with zoos about this change. We will work very closely with them, through the working group, which has already looked at it and recommended it. I recognise that some zoos have anxiety about what it might entail, but I reassure him that we will work closely with the zoo sector.

In conclusion, this is an important year for animal welfare. The Bill sends a very clear message that we are serious about protecting the welfare of animals that are in the care of mankind. I am confident that Members of this House will agree that we have a special duty to kept animals; the Bill is a further important step in improving animal welfare for those. I therefore commend it to the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bill Wiggin]

I am grateful, as always, to my hon. Friend. I think that if he looks at the bit on the Northern Irish element in the explanatory notes, he will find that that is not in there for this particular element. I am sure that he will be on that Committee and sorting that out, which will be wonderful. None the less, it is important and it does matter.

In much the same way, the dog element in this Bill is important. A total of 843 illegal puppies were seized at the border last year. Again, it is always the unscrupulous who do not care that are ruining it for everybody else. I want to use this little moment in my speech to make this appeal to people: rather than spending huge amounts of money on a puppy, please think about rehoming before you buy your puppy. Just because it is rehoming does not mean that the buyer will get a pit bull with mental health issues—their dog could have come from a home exactly like their own where the owner has simply become too ill to look after their dog.

[Dr Luke Evans]

rose—

[Bill Wiggin]

The buyer might also find that their dog is house trained. On that note, it is entirely appropriate to give way to my hon. Friend.

[Dr Evans]

My hon. Friend’s point could be no more pertinent than at this moment in time given that, post lockdown, we are seeing a rise in animals being given away because owners cannot deal with them. We must get the message out that people looking for pets should please rehome these lockdown puppies.

[Bill Wiggin]

There is no better way of ruining the market for illegal puppies than simply getting them from the plentiful rehoming centres and charities. Finding the right home for our pets is a humane and worthy thing to do, so everyone should please look at this very carefully before they pay large sums of money.

I also urge the Government to look hard at dog theft and all the other animal-related crimes. We have read that they are going to treat such things in a very serious way and I encourage them to do so and I encourage them to iron out some of the minor hiccups in this piece of legislation and continue with the good work they are doing.

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

It has caught my eye that there is no time limit on the current debate, and, given that we have been kept MPs during covid, it is nice for me to be able to rise to speak, but slightly ironic that it is within the kept animals Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker mentioned that his vote in the Westminster dog of the year will go to David Amess’s dog. I hope that that has nothing to do with the fact that he met my two dogs on the street at the weekend which are also entered in the competition.

From farmers to residents, Bosworth is a constituency of animal lovers. We were in the top 10 of 650 constituencies when it came to petitioning for animal welfare. At this point, let me pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Chris Loder) for taking his Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill through the House with the help of the Government and the Opposition. That is a good example of what we can do when we work together—we can improve animal welfare. That Act should be lauded and seen as part of the record that the Conservatives are driving forward. I am pleased that this Bill has been introduced, because it really does mean a lot.

There are four main strands to this, and I will comment only briefly on the first two. On livestock exports, I was really pleased to hear the Secretary of State clear up the difference between breeding and fattening livestock. My farmers from the National Farmers’ Union are very concerned that the messaging is not getting out. When they hear us talk about banning live exports, they worry about what is happening to their livelihood. We need a nuance within the messaging and I urge the Government to get that across to make sure that the farming community does not feel threatened.

When it comes to bothering farm animals, I am pleased to see that there is no measure in the Bill that talks about bothering Londoners. Given the weekend that I had with my two whippets down here, I would have been in huge amounts of trouble because of the problems they caused. Fortunately, though, we are talking about the farming community. Again, it has been made abundantly clear that the farming community really feel this issue on an emotional and a financial level, and it could easily be stepped up. Would the Government consider running a campaign to raise awareness of the Countryside Code, because we can join together to change the legislation not only around bothering, but on how to care for our environment. Litter has been a real problem in the countryside during lockdown. An attempt to drive up awareness of what is involved in going to the countryside would be very welcome.

My speech focuses on two elements. The first is puppy smuggling. It is fantastic to see ear cropping and tail docking included in the legislation. Will the Government consider looking at brachycephalic pets? We know that one in five pets now being bought is short-nosed. When we talk about smuggling, could we incorporate that matter as well?

The shadow Minister mentioned micro-chipping and pet theft. I have sat in debates on both of those subjects and was pleased to hear that the Government were open-minded on the matter. Will the Minister comment on the pet theft reform group that has stepped up to look into the detail of this. While pet theft is very much a growing concern, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home says that there is such a fear of it that dogs are not being taken out. Clearly, this must be a fact-based exercise. I would be grateful to hear when those reports are coming forward, so that this House can use those facts to debate the matter and what will actually make a difference.

Finally, I wish to focus on zoos. I must declare an interest: I sit on the all-party-group for zoos and aquariums under the fantastic stewardship of my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell). It must be said that, during the pandemic, he has been a true champion of zoos. Given that zoos are covered by three Departments—the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Treasury—it has been difficult to ensure that the noise on zoos is heard, and there has been no finer champion of them than my hon. Friend.

Zoos have a special place in my heart not only because I have Twycross Zoo in my patch, but because it was the subject of my first question in PMQs. Interestingly, I was not in this place, as it was the first PMQs done remotely, and it was not the Prime Minister answering the question, but the Deputy Prime Minister, but that takes nothing away from the fact that Twycross is incredibly important not only to me and my constituents, but to our region. That was clear from the number of MPs who spoke to me in support of Twycross during the tough times. It should come as no surprise therefore to know that, as of today, I have secured a visit from the Secretary of State for Levelling Up to see our bid at Twycross Zoo for the levelling up fund. As the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) pointed out, zoos do so much. They are the ark of species. When we are seeing such decline, they offer the hope of learning and of contributing to our environment. Twycross is exemplary in that regard. It has put forward a bid for a national education and conservation centre, which will not only breed the next specialists in conservation, but will drive the economy too. It already has 600,000 visitors a year. If the bid is successful, that number will grow. I welcome anyone else who would like to visit Twycross, because it is a fantastic day out.

There is a serious point here. I have met both the Zoos Expert Committee and indeed DEFRA to talk through the Secretary of State’s standards of modern practice and to hear what the Zoos Expert Committee had to say. I am pleased to see that there is representation from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums on the Zoos Expert Committee, because there is a worry among the zoo community about what the provisions on zoos would look like. The zoos that we have heard about today—Whipsnade, Chester and Twycross—will have no problems and nothing to fear, and rightly so.

This Bill is all about driving up the standards of bad zoos. In this age, we must make a distinction between good zoos, which are in favour of conservation and education, and bad zoos, which are simply there to profiteer off the back of animals. That is what is at the heart of the Bill. However, we must ensure that conservation is not simply seen through the amount of turnover or financial dedication, but through all the non-tangibles that we have heard about, such as education and support for places elsewhere around the world. That is what Twycross thrives on. With the four great apes that it has on show, it is literally a world leader in understanding great apes and chimpanzees. That level of conservation must be what the Bill drives forward. I am quite happy for the Secretary of State to have these powers, because as we move forward we must be able to update the legislation. It was last looked at through the reforms of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, but I urge the Government to come forward and clear up what conservation truly means.

That has been a fast canter through my view from Bosworth—from the zoo sector, and from the farmers and residents there. I am most pleased to hear that, in a time of difficulties and hostilities, we have heard such good news from both sides of the House. I really hope that the Bill is a success in supporting animals.

Microchipping of Pets

Luke Evans Excerpts

Monday 28th June 2021 Westminster Hall

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to be here under your stewardship, Mr Pritchard, although it will not be so much of a pleasure for my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis), who brought the debate, because unfortunately he will have to listen to me for the next couple of minutes talking about my own pets. I think it is important to do that, because that is what humanises the debate.

In the nearly 18 months I have been here, this is one of the easiest speeches I have had to give, talking about my pets, Roux and Ada, who are two very silly whippets, the first of whom was bought before the first lockdown. In the same week that Michel Roux died, we got Roux, a grey, very small—very tiny—very meek whippet. She was supposed to be my wife’s dog, while I was away down in Westminster, but of course we went straight into lockdown and Roux joined me, at my feet, at my beck and call. Every single day, during those phone calls, from 6 o’clock in the morning to 11 o’clock at night, dealing with my constituents in the pandemic, Roux was there. My only break was to get her a drink or feed her, to let her out and to take her for a walk. She was my companion.

That of course meant a problem, because that dog was supposed to be my wife’s—so we had to get a second. The second came in the form of Ada, named after Ada Lovelace for two reasons: she has a great big heart—literally, on the side of her chest—and Ada Lovelace has a special place in my constituency. Ada is the complete opposite of the meek Roux; she is tenacious and grunty, and she has only one gear, which is forward. That is problematic. When I go out across the fields of Leicestershire, Ada and Roux head out and leave me for dust. They are not only whippets by name. As people who have a whippet know, they are digital animals—they are either on or off. Most people say of having a whippet, “You don’t own one; you wear one”—they are on the sofa, they are around our neck or lying in our lap. When we take them out, however, it is a different kettle of fish.

I am lucky to have the fields of Desford, Peckleton and Newbold Verdon all at my beck and call, because the dogs love to run across them. The problem is, they will spot children and other dogs on the other side of the fields, and be gone. The good news is that mine are so meek that I am yet to see a dominant display at any point. It usually ends with them rolling over and showing their tummy.

Whippets are fantastic escape artists. They are brilliant at defusing all my ways of keeping them in the garden, from chewing through chicken wire to leaping six-foot fences. That, however, is of course the cut and thrust of what we are talking about: they escape easily and, should they escape, they can disappear; and if they disappear, they can be lost and, unfortunately, lost forever—as we heard, tragically, from my hon. Friend the Member for Morley and Outwood (Andrea Jenkyns).

About 8.5 million dogs in the country are chipped. I like to think that most of them have good homes, so that is at least 8.5 million people looking after them, although of course they are family animals. That is why the debate matters; it cuts through to who we are. My right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) hinted at that. He gave many stats about how the subject not only is the soft underbelly of the emotional aspect of the UK, but leads to the harder crime aspect.

Given those serious points, I would like to think that if my dogs ever went missing, a vet would scan my dog. We know that the numbers have gone from 58% to 90% when dogs are chipped, but we also know that prices have gone up and that there is puppy profiteering. In my own experience—which with whippets, not the most popular breed—prices doubled in that timeframe. Worse still is puppy smuggling. I know, from when I asked about pet fish and how to protect oneself when buying them, that the Minister is working hard to deal with the issues. Most people are good people, they do their diligent research, but we need the vets and the industry to support our fight in dealing with theft and loss.

I am completely open to the fact that unintended consequences are possible. I would like to see the consultation get underneath what is going on, bringing with the Government the vets, the associations, the rescuers and of course the public, because at heart, as a Parliament, we can all agree, no matter which side of the House we are on, no matter which industry we are in—receiver or carer—that this can be resolved. I would like the Minister to consider that, to provide some dates for when the two measures are likely to come forward and, I hope, be passed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Evans Excerpts

Thursday 21st January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

What steps he is taking to ensure the UK is a global leader in animal welfare.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Victoria Prentis)]

The Government are committed to the animal welfare agenda. Currently, we are working on proposals to ban live exports for slaughter or fattening, banning primates as pets and introducing compulsory microchipping for cats. We will increase sentences for animal cruelty, enhance the welfare standards of farmed animals and bring forward proposals relating to animal sentience.

[Dr Evans [V]]

I thank the Minister for her answer, and I am grateful for all she is doing, but both the demand for puppies in the UK and their price have skyrocketed over lockdown. I declare an interest: I bought two of the same breed several months apart and saw a doubling in the price. I have been speaking to reputable breeders, and they are choosing not to breed their dogs because of concerns about welfare. What are the Government doing to ensure puppy welfare, clamp down on puppy farms and stop puppy profiteering?

[Victoria Prentis]

My hon. Friend raises an important question, which I know he has campaigned on before. Regulations in England require anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs to be licensed. Last year, we banned commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens, and also launched our national Petfished campaign to educate the public on how to source pets responsibly.

Exiting the European Union (Plant Health)

Luke Evans Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Prentis]

The hon. Gentleman is a great champion for his farmers. This SI is related to GB only, but I assure him that I speak very frequently to the Minister in Northern Ireland. I have not done so this week, but I do generally often and I probably will in the course of the next few days. I know that he and I are both committed to very high standards in British agriculture.

In making these operability changes, we are focused on ensuring that the phytosanitary controls reflect actual risks to Great Britain. The risk assessment process follows the UK’s well established risk management methodology using our UK plant health risk register as our principal screening tool. Applying this evidence-based process to determine our lists of regulated plants, products and pests for the future has resulted in increased focus on the threats about which we really need to be concerned. For example, some pests that pose a risk only to citrus, rice and other tropical crops, which we do not grow, have been deregulated. This has positive impacts, as it allows our inspectors to focus their efforts on the higher-risk commodities about which we are concerned, such as Xylella hosts, and tree species such as plane, which we are really worried about. This approach means that items that have previously been subject to restrictions or prohibitions even though the risk is in fact negligible, such as mangos, curry leaves and so on, are now able to be imported into Great Britain free of restriction.

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

It will not have escaped the Minister’s notice that we are actually in a pandemic, and protection and prevention for our environment before getting to that stage are really important. How robust does she believe the implementation of this legislation will be in ensuring that we are indeed as protected as we can be?

Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Evans Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2020 Commons Chamber

The hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners was asked—

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

What steps the Church of England is taking to support churches to conduct Christmas services during the covid-19 outbreak.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Penrith and The Border) (Con)]

What steps the Church of England is taking to help ensure that people can safely celebrate Advent and Christmas during the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous)]

From 2 December, places of worship can reopen for public worship, and churches and cathedrals can now approach Advent and Christmas with certainty. Clergy have already demonstrated that they have made their buildings covid-secure, and many cathedrals and churches are planning to have multiple services to accommodate more people as fewer are allowed in each service. The further good news is that, while indoor singing is limited to performance only, we can all take part in outdoor and door-to-door singing, staying 2 metres apart or away from the threshold, and nativity plays for under-18s are permitted in accordance with the performing arts guidance.

[Dr Evans [V]]

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s comments on services, but at Christmas time, the Church does a lot more—it provides support for our communities through financial advice, fuel and food poverty advice and, of course, the social support that is at the heart of it all. With that in mind, what discussions has he had with local and national Government and the Churches to ensure that they can continue to provide that support in a covid-secure way at Christmas?

[Andrew Selous]

I know that my hon. Friend takes a close interest in this area of the Church’s work. The Church continues to work with the Government through the places of worship taskforce to advise parishes on how to continue providing critical assistance locally, which they have done wonderfully well. For example, St Peter’s in Market Bosworth, in his constituency, is supporting the local women’s refuge with food and toiletries.

Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill

Luke Evans Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 23rd October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

When I saw that my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Chris Loder) had introduced this Bill, I was thrilled to be able to support it. As someone who grew up in Dorset and walked our harlequin Great Dane and pointer across Maiden Castle in his constituency, it is something close to my heart.

Those lucky enough to come to my constituency of Bosworth will see that we are animal lovers. Everywhere they look, they will see people walking their dogs, tending to their horses and looking after their cats. It was therefore no surprise to me that when the pet theft petition was debated at the start of the week, Bosworth was 10th on the list, with 345 signatures.

I personally have recently had two new additions to my house, both in the form of whippets. The first one, Roux, came just before lockdown and was named after Michel Roux in the same week that he unfortunately passed away. We now have a new addition during lockdown called Ada, after Ada Lovelace, who has a special place in my constituency’s heart given her scientific background.

The thing that most struck me picks up on a point that my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Cherilyn Mackrory) made. In buying two whippets in the space of six month, the price was more than 200% different, and that is something we really need to look at, because whippets are not the most popular breeds out there. Looking into the research before the debate, I have seen 400%, 500% or even 600% increases in the price of puppies.

I would be interested to know whether causing unnecessary suffering will extend under clause 1 to the breeding side and dealing with some of the puppy farming. If not, I would be grateful if the Government would take that away and look at how we can cut down on puppy farming, because in my experience of speaking to breeders, many reputable breeders were choosing not to breed at this time to make sure that they were not dealing in profiteering, and that is really important.

In my role in the medical profession, I have seen the positives of dogs going into care homes to brighten people’s days, and that is what they do for people up and down the country. The thought of anyone harming them is absolutely despicable, so I am so happy to stand here and support the Bill to make sure that those who commit animal cruelty feel the full force of law. I have a saying for whippet lovers, “A house is never lonely where a loving whippet waits”, and I cannot wait to get back to my two tonight.

Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Evans Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous]

I am pleased that my hon. Friend has raised this point, because he is absolutely right. The Government need to combat religious illiteracy by making the case that the public square should never be purely secular, as secular humanism is itself a belief system and such an approach would be illiberal.

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

What steps the Church of England is taking to support people in financial difficulty during the covid-19 outbreak.

[Andrew Selous]

Some 1,000 Church of England parishes are directly involved in debt advice, sometimes working with debt counselling organisations such as Christians Against Poverty. In my hon. Friend’s county of Leicestershire, the diocese of Leicester chairs the Fair Finance Group, which tackles financial exclusion, working with local councils, the Department for Work and Pensions and credit unions.

[Dr Evans]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that answer, because financial difficulty is a really difficult problem. I was lucky enough to visit St John’s in Hinckley, at the request of the Rev. Gary Weston, where he showed me their food bank and the food parcels that they deliver to provide support locally. One of the questions that he wanted me to ask today was about better joining up with local government and raising awareness of what churches can do, because they can respond very quickly to provide support for local people in need. What steps is my hon. Friend taking to ensure that that can happen?

[Andrew Selous]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question, which leads on directly from the previous question from our hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Danny Kruger), and he is absolutely right to raise it. I am very aware of the good work of St John’s in Hinckley. He might know that it is benefiting from £800,000 of further investment in mission and ministry, provided by the Church’s strategic development funding. Churches such as St John’s have been quietly getting on with essential work in the community, as is happening up and down the country, and I am hugely grateful to all of them. He is absolutely right; they need to work hand in hand with local authorities, and local authorities need to be aware of what churches are doing in their areas.

Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Evans Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2020 Commons Chamber

The hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked—

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

11. To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Commissioners are taking to support the maintenance of churches in (a) Bosworth constituency and (b) the UK.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous)]

Lowest income communities funding supported mission and ministry in Holy Trinity and St John’s churches in Hinckley in my hon. Friend’s constituency in 2019. Across England from 2020 to 2022, £82.1 million will be allocated by the Commissioners as lowest income communities funding, with a further £82.1 million in strategic development funding to support diocesan plans.

[Dr Evans]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for talking about the repairs that are going on in churches in my constituency and across the country, but churches in Hinckley and Bosworth, and indeed across the country, face the risk of having their roofs stolen. This is an ongoing problem; it has not gone away. I would be grateful for his comments on what the Commission is doing to try to prevent this.

[Andrew Selous]

I am exceedingly grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this point, because it is a real issue for churches up and down the country, many of which cannot get insurance if this happens on a second or subsequent occasion. The Church has asked the Government to review and strengthen the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. Initially, the Act dramatically reduced thefts, but changes to serious organised criminal behaviour have led to increases, and I will be asking what plans the Government have to amend the Act.